New Wayne County Sheriff plans to be accessible to residents
By Patricia Faulhaber
March 25, 2013
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Travis Hutchinson has worked in the Wayne County Sheriffs office for more than 30 years. He became the official new sheriff in Wayne County Jan. 1. Since taking office, he has been working on a number of changes, including hiring Doug Johnson as chief deputy.
Weve been very busy but no major surprises, Hutchinson said.
The only real surprise has been some plumbing issues within the jail division and we worked with the commissioners to get those resolved. Weve been making a number of changes, including some restructuring changes of assigned duties to make a more even division of responsibilities, he said.
Together, Hutchinson and Johnson have been assessing the internal structure and operations to determine the offices needs and to see where there may be gaps of service in the county. When the assessments are complete, they will be able use the information to help meet current staffing needs.
Weve been assessing our internal competencies and experience in preparation for future planning, Johnson said.
There are a number of changes theyre working on. One is collaborating with Marinello Realty to help raise funds for a new canine division. The last time the sheriffs office had a canine unit was eight years ago.
Another goal is to re-establish personnel within the detective division. The patrol division currently handles all investigations. The office recently lost an accountant and Hutchinson is thinking of trying to absorb the duties and responsibilities of that position using the current staff. Hutchinson would like to petition the commissioners office to maintain funding and reallocate it for detective personnel.
This is one of the priorities the sheriff brought with him when he came into office, getting personnel into that division. The previous sheriff reallocated the detectives when he had to make budget cuts, Johnson said.
Hutchinson said at one time there were four detectives working in the division but right now they dont have any.
The patrol unit has done an outstanding job of absorbing the duties of the detectives and doing the day-to-day on investigations and case follow ups. Weve been providing the same level of services with less manpower, Hutchinson said.
Yet another goal Hutchinson is working on is to re-establish middle management within the office. One sergeant in the jail division has been promoted and one sergeant in the patrol division will be promoted in the near future.
The promotions are an attempt to increase supervision of staff and provide better structure in both divisions while providing continued and better service to the community, Hutchinson said.
Other goals include providing more training for uniformed officers, collaborating with other law enforcement agencies to provide a countywide task force or SWAT team and provide more school officers and build a presence within the schools. The office is aggressively developing a program for autistic children and adults by working with Summit County to develop a database for faster response and locating services.
One adjustment already implemented is the office has started plowing their parking lot during the snowy months. The commissioners agreed to purchase a plow truck for the sheriffs office so that one of their personnel can plow the lot. It reduces the work load of the commissioners office by four hours and reduces their overtime expense. The truck can also be used to haul drug evidence from marijuana fields instead of using the sheriffs cars.
Hutchinson said there are some challenges, including an increase in illegal drug activity in the county. MEDWAY (Medina and Wayne counties drug enforcement agency) has been stepping up enforcement and apprehension of drug traffickers. He said one his patrol officers drove up on a drug deal taking place along one of the roads in the county earlier this year.
The officer seized $10,000 in cash and a vehicle. The drugs had already been distributed. There has been an increase in heroine usage and meth labs, including mobile meth labs that are located in the trunks of cars. Another problem is the increase in out of state traffickers coming into the area.
The Wayne County Sheriffs office has 63 people working there, with 54 full-time officers, one part-time officer and eight civilians. There are three divisions, including administration, patrol and corrections. The office patrols 566 miles of township roads and 501 miles of county roads.
Sheriff Hutchinson joined the office as a reserve officer in 1978 and became full time in 1979. He left the office July 1, 2010 to run for sheriff. He was sergeant assigned to the corrections division before leaving.
He said he always wanted to be a police officer. He had family members on the force and that sparked his interest.
I started with the office right out of high school. About five years ago I decided I wanted to run for sheriff. Its different being on this side. I was used to doing the ground level work and Im still learning the administrative side of it. I cant say enough about how good, supportive and patient the staff here has been, Hutchinson said.
The sheriffs family has been supportive. His parents and most of his siblings live in southern Ohio in Monroe County. He does have one brother that lives in Wayne County. Hutchinson said he enjoyed the campaigning part of running. It was his first time managing a campaign. He said he couldnt have done it without one of his previous bosses, Sheriff Loran Alexander, helping him.
Chief Deputy Johnson was previously with the sheriffs office from June 1990 to April 2007. He resigned as jail captain and took a six-year position as Wayne County Municipal Court administrator before he was hired by Sheriff Hutchinson.
Hutchinson plans to be accessible to residents in the county. He is driving a marked car versus some sheriffs in the state who drive an unmarked car. He is still going on calls and taking reports. Hutchinson wants to make the office more user friendly for the general public by offering extended hours on a few evenings a week and Saturdays.
This office has always been accessible to residents and Sheriff Hutchinson is planning to continue that tradition, Johnson said.
Some of the duties the sheriffs office performs include working with the county jail, providing security for the common pleas court, civil processing of subpoenas and foreclosures, serving divorce papers and civil protection orders. They also provide transportation services to juvenile court and juvenile offenders and the office provides police protection to the unincorporated parts of the county that dont have a police department.
